Wodyetia A. K. Irvine, Principles 27: 161. 1983.

One species

Wodyetia bifurcata A. K. Irvine, Principles 27: 161. 1983; Jones, D.L., Palms in Australia.1995.

Single-stemmed palm, light grey, slightly bottle-shaped, 6-10 m tall and 20-25 cm in diameter, trunk smooth, tightly ringed and swollen at base. Leaves 6-10 in a crown, 2.5-3 m long; petiole 30-40 cm x ca. 5 cm, adaxially flat or canaliculate, abaxially convex, petiole and rachis green bearing scales; young leaves densely covered with scales; leaf sheath tubular, 80-120 cm long, light green with greyish-white bloom, leaf sheaths together form ‘crown shaft’ at the apex of stem, crown shaft creamy green and very smooth; leaf blade pinnately divided into 90-100 or more primary pinnae regularly arranged in all planes encircling the rachis giving the appearance of fox’s tail; primary pinnae mostly divided into few to many segments/secondary pinnae parallel to the long axis, proximal and distal 1-4 primary pinnae entire or divided into 1-4 segments /secondary pinnae, number of segments increase up to 17 towards mid rachis; segments/secondary pinnae linear-lanceolate, narrow at base and apex, 12-70 cm x 2-4.8 cm, largest in mid rachis and smallest distally, lamina glossy, light green above, pale green beneath, margins ribbed. Inflorescence 0.7-1.1 m long, with up to 3 orders of branching, having 20 main laterals + terminal; rachis light green, scales not conspicuous; peduncle 8-14 cm long and 4.5 cm in diameter, with 5-6 caducous bracts subtending the first lateral; prophyll ca. 60 cm long immediately prior to splitting; lower peduncular bract ca. 58 cm long, second peduncular bract 1.4 cm long and other peduncular bracts very small, 1-3 mm x ca. 3 mm; rameal bracts (bracts of branches) extremely small. Flowers in groups of 3 (triads) consisting of two male and one female. Male Flowers: ca. 18 mm long, appears to be bisexual. Sepals 3, ca. 5 mm x 8 mm, free, thick, green, irregular, imbricate. Petals 3, creamish-green, ca. 15 mm x 8 mm, connate at base, tube very short, lobes ca. 13 mm x 8 mm, oblong, obtuse at apex, glabrous. Stamens many, up to 50 in number; filaments 8-10 mm long, monoadelphous; anthers ca. 5.5 mm long, bithecous, dehiscence longitudinal. Pistillode with 6-8 mm long, flask-shaped ovary lacking ovule; stylode ca. 10 mm long, slender; stigma simple (Pistillode appears to be a normal pistil but it lacks ovule). Female Flowers: ca. 10 mm x 11 mm. Sepals 3, ca. 6 mm x 8 mm. Petals 3, ovate, ca. 6 mm x 5 mm. Staminodes 6, small, deltoid with very short filaments; stigmas 3, virtually sessile, apex slightly rounded.

Fruits 4.9-5.7 cm x 2.7-3.7 cm excluding calyx. Mesocarp fleshy, 2.5-3 mm thick. Seeds terete, ca. 3.2 cm x 2.2 cm. Seed shell covered with wavy, slightly depressed, longitudinally tending fibrous lines, some forking. (Fruits not observed)

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